


A Drabble a Day Keeps Corona At Bay

by thetroll



Series: A Collection of Drabbles [5]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:55:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 19,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23248837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetroll/pseuds/thetroll
Summary: A series of unrelated or quasi-related drabble one-shots written during the Corona outbreak while many of us are quarantined; goal is to write at least one each week my state is under mandated restrictions.Because we all need happiness and fluff right now.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Sesshoumaru
Series: A Collection of Drabbles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673245
Comments: 50
Kudos: 235
Collections: Fics in the Time of Coronavirus





	1. Sesshomaru, the Best Dad Ever

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to throw prompts my way. I can't promise which ones I'll take or when, but inspiration is always nice for something like this! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt:  
> Dad!Sesshomaru is the best dad.  
> Suggested words: ~1k  
> Note: We are here for shameless fluff (and potentially smut) to help us all survive corona virus.
> 
> As always, any rating or length is OK!
> 
> Some suggestions by everyone for additional depth to the dad prompt:  
> \- Dad Sesshomaru secretly buys toys and keeps them to surprise his kids by leaving them for the kids to find but denies being the one to buy them.  
> \- Dad Sesshomaru enjoys reading his kids to sleep and won't let anyone else read to them.  
> \- Dad Sesshomaru has to rescue the kids from Uncle InuYasha and Uncle Koga's shenanigans. He is Not Pleased with what the uncles have been doing with his kids.  
> \- Dad Sesshomaru struggles with "empty nest" once the kids are grown.  
> \- The kids are sick! Dad Sesshomaru becomes a nursemaid.

Kagome hovered just out of sight as she heard her husband read to their children, chuckling as she realized he was reading them a treatise on human-yokai affairs.

"Therefore," Sesshomaru's voice continued, his voice low and syllabic despite the terse reading, "it is exceptionally important to remember that when a yokai is negotiating with humans to realize that they may not have ownership of the property being offered. It is thus unwise to negotiate land rights with humans until one has ascertained the authority of the human in question. This is something yokai may find difficult to achieve but there are several established methods for determining the prestige and rank of a human and their family. The first..."

"You have a bed, as I recall."

She blinked, realizing she'd been caught dozing against the wall. "Oh, hello Sesshomaru," she said, stopping to yawn as she straightened. "I guess that 'story' put me to sleep as well. How are the kids doing?"

"Asleep." A small smile tugged at his lips as he offered her a hand. "Takahiro once again decided to sleep with his brother. I do not know why you insisted they have separate beds."

Kagome rolled her eyes as she took the hand he offered her, twining their fingers together. "Just because they're twins doesn't mean that we shouldn't give them their own things, Sesshomaru. Besides, I don't want to hear it; we both know how much you've spoiled Yuri." 

Sesshomaru gave her a level look as he led her to their bedroom. "She is female."

Kagome didn't bother to answer that one; Sesshomaru was determined to spoil their daughter and nothing would dare stop him. Every time she turned around, he'd found some other gift for Yuri, and though she was only three, he'd already commissioned an elaborate seven-layer kimono for her presentation to the court when she turned sixteen.

Not that either of their sons, Hiroki or Takahiro, were left wanting, either. Sesshomaru disguised his need to spoil his nine year old sons by ensuring the gifts he gave the twins were always 'practical.' The boys had already received a wooden mock version of their father's own sword, Bakusaiga, as well as miniature versions of his armor. Ah-Un had recently mated and the twins had recently been given permission to take Ah-Un's twin dragons from the mating as their own companions. The boys, with as much creativity as their father, had named the dragons 'One' and 'Two.'

Kagome was fairly certain that Yuki would receive her own dragon when she was older.

But that brought her back to her original complaint: Sesshomaru's choice of reading material. 

"But really, Sesshomaru; did you have to read them a treatise?" Kagome asked as he slid open the door to their room. "We have more age-appropriate reading material, you know."

"They should be kept well-informed of the current affairs of their home. It is never too early to learn," Sesshomaru said unrepentantly. 

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Sesshomaru—"

He chuckled as he pulled her close to him. "Yes, wife?"

He was giving her that look, that adorable look of affection that always had her feeling weak in the knees, and she was no less susceptible to it now than she had been when they first married a decade ago. "That's not playing fair," she complained.

"But you like it," he rumbled just before he bent his head to kiss her.

Well, she thought to herself, he was right, but he didn't have to look so smug about it.

A moment later, she forgot what she'd even been complaining about as her husband proved to her once more that she was all he'd ever desired. 


	2. A Romantic Breakfast in Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:  
> Sesshomaru brings Kagome breakfast in bed.

Kagome stirred as she felt something settle on the bed beside her.

She blearily opened her eyes to see Sesshomaru looking down at her from his side of the bed, his expression tender. "Good morning," she said, wincing at how raspy her voice sounded.

"Good morning," he said, sounding as infuriatingly perfect as he looked. "I apologize. I did not intend to wake you."

That was when she noticed the tray beside her, filled with far more food than either of them could ever eat. Bright flowers had been tucked into an old sake container, likely because she doubted Sesshomaru owned any vases of his own.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. _He'd listened._ Last night as they'd curled up together following their intimate activities, she'd sleepily confessed that she'd always dreamt her lover would break her breakfast in bed. It was a girl's dream, one Kagome had long since given up on now that she was almost thirty, but _Sesshomaru had listened_.

Sesshomaru, the daiyokai who would sooner eviscerate something than dig in the dirt, had brought her flowers and breakfast while she was in bed.

"You brought me flowers," she said, her voice wavering, "and breakfast."

He nodded and then looked a little apprehensive. "It was what you desired," he admitted stiffly and she realized his desire to ensure her needs and wants were met went far deeper than she'd realized. "I would see you happy in all things. This is only a small token of what I hope to provide for you."

Her heart melted and any lingering regrets she'd had about starting this new relationship with Sesshomaru fled away. She'd never felt more cherished than she did then. "Thank you," she said as she patted the space next to her so he would sit down beside her.

He did and only then did she realize how stiff his body was. He was clearly still waiting to see that he'd met her expectations and evidently her answer hadn't been enough to satisfy him.

"This is perfect," she said, moving to press a gentle kiss to his lips. " _You're_ perfect. No one has ever done so much for me, Sesshomaru. Thank you."

Just like that, his tension melted away and a small smile spread across his face. "Hnn."

She shuffled up next to him, arranging his arm so it wrapped around her, and then gestured for him to settle the tray over their laps. "You'll eat with me, right?"

"It is meant for you."

She pressed a kiss to his jaw. "Nothing would make me happier than to share this meal with someone I love."

He nodded, a faint blush on his cheeks, but he waited for her to choose first before he moved to eat.

And that fragile, tiny love blossomed in Kagome's chest.


	3. You're My Boyfriend Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “Please pretend to be my boyfriend/girlfriend for the next 5 minutes.”
> 
> This one is AU.

"I need you to pretend we're dating," Kagome hissed, moving up to stand next to the surprised daiyokai as she all but tackled him in the middle of their college campus.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened as he stared at her. Kagome wasn't sure if it was because of her words or the fact that she'd looped one arm through his, but she didn't care, either. She was not going to sit through another half hour trying unsuccessfully to convince Koga that she simply wasn't interested.

"Priestess—" Sesshomaru began but whatever he'd been about to say, Koga's shout cut right through his words.

"There you are!" Koga came to an abrupt stop as he halted before the daiyokai and Kagome. He looked at Kagome and then at Sesshomaru and back again. "Oy, K'gome, what're you doing with Sesshomaru?"

 _So they_ do _know each other. Perfect._

"We didn't tell you?" Kagome pretended to look chastised. "Koga, he's my boyfriend. We're even going to be moving in together next semester. Isn't that right, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he glared down at her and she had the suspicion he was about to negate that assertion. Thinking quickly, Kagome giggled as she playfully slapped his chest. "Oh, don't be put out; I'm sorry I forgot to greet you properly."

And then she stood on her tip toes and pressed a hasty and awkward kiss to his lips.

Sesshomaru froze, growling, and Koga seemed to take that growl as a demand that the wolf yokai leave rather than a warning to Kagome because Koga swallowed as he said, "Well, uh, I hear Ginta calling my name about that paper for our microbiology class. See you later!"

Kagome pulled back as Koga turned tail and ran. "Thank you for playing along. He's been after me since freshman year and it's getting kind of old." She was a junior now and heartily sick of Koga's refusal to let her go. Not only would he hit on her every chance she got, but he also had the horrible tendency to find out and intimidate the men who asked her out before they even got to go on a date.

She was sick of it.

But if looks were anything to go by, the graduate student was less than thrilled at being looped into her plot. Sesshomaru came from a wealthy and powerful family in the yokai world and, from what she'd heard, he hadn't dated anyone seriously while he was an undergraduate or now that he was in his first year of his doctoral program in economics.

To her surprise, he chuckled lightly as she pulled back to stare up at him. She’d hoped that he would be more understanding after her explanation but his laughter unnerved her.

"Tell me, now that you have declared your intentions before another member of the yokai ruling council, do you also intend on providing mating gifts or do you seek to move straight to the formal ceremony?" Sesshomaru ran his claws through his hair.

Kagome stared at him as the worlds ran through her head. "Koga is on the council?" she repeated blankly. She'd learned during her yokai affairs classes that daiyokai declared their intent before members of the council to allow room for challenges if the couple were unsuitable.

She'd just never thought _Koga_ of all people would be on the council.

Sesshomaru nodded, his lips shifting into a smirk.

"Well, shit," Kagome muttered to herself. They couldn't just call things off; she'd as good as told Koga they were going to be married. She'd taken her lie one step too far. "Ah," she said a little louder, "so what do we do?"

He raised a brow. "It would seem that we will be, as you said, moving in together in preparation of marriage. Now that you have declared yourself, I no longer have to worry that they would find you unsuitable. The deed has already been done."

_So we're moving in together. He's probably going to hate me for—_

The rest of his words hit her. "You sound like you wanted this!" she accused, pointing a finger at him.

He chuckled. "Perhaps," he said, stepping closer as he pulled her to him. "Perhaps you could convince me," he added, tapping his lips with one thumb, "assuming your next kiss is better than your first."

Her temper flared before she realized he was teasing her. He, Sesshomaru, the daiyokai most students feared for his ruthless ability to mince people down with just words, _was teasing her_.

She swallowed. "Ah, are you sure—"

He didn't give her any further room to protest. He simply pulled her more firmly to him before dipping his head to kiss her and the last thought she had was that, when he put his mind to it, Sesshomaru was a really, really good kisser.


	4. We're having a baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts:  
> "I'm pregnant."   
> -and-  
> Forehead kisses
> 
> For "Revving," the best reviewer of all time.

"I'm pregnant," Kagome said, wiping tears from her eyes, and Sesshomaru wanted to cry, too.

He wanted to cry because they'd been trying for six years, four months, and twenty-seven days. He wanted to cry because he knew how much it hurt her when she'd taken each test in the privacy of their bathroom, only for it to turn up negative. He wanted to cry because he'd heard her crying, hidden away in their coat closet where she thought he couldn't hear her after the doctor had broken the news that Kagome may never be able to conceive. She only had one functional ovary and her endometriosis meant a fertilized egg would have difficulty latching onto her uterine walls. It was not impossible, the doctor had said, but it would be difficult, and Kagome had taken months to recover from the depression the doctor's revelation had brought.

But most of all, he wanted to cry because Kagome would be an amazing mother and he'd wanted to build a family with her as much as _she'd_ wanted it and finally, _finally_ after six years, four months, and twenty-seven days, that dream was a reality.

He picked her off of the counter, uncaring of how her tears soaked his crisp suit jacket. 

The morning's meeting could wait. 

The woman who held his heart could not.

He placed her on their bed, tucking the blankets around her as he kissed her forehead, delighting in the way she clung to him.

"While this news brings me great delight, Kagome," he rumbled, curling his body around hers to tuck her against his larger form, "never forget that it is you—and not a child—who is my great treasure."

And this time, she cried again, staring up at him with glossy eyes but these tears, he knew, were happy ones.


	5. Smitten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Smitten
> 
> AU for Chie!

He was smitten from the first moment she'd challenged him.

It had started at her interview when Sesshomaru had noted she was a human priestess yet she'd applied to work in an office— _his_ office, for _his_ company—rather than work at a temple. When he'd demanded an explanation, she'd told him primly that he wasn't due one.

It had intrigued him, though he hadn't recognized it at the time as anything more than a simple appreciation for her daring. So few would have dared to refuse him something he'd desired.

But _she_ had.

And to his chagrin, he'd desired to have her challenge him again.

Perhaps, he reflected, that was why he'd instituted the rule that no one could leave early on Christmas Eve. There was work to be done to prepare for the next year and if _he_ was to work the holiday, he expected nothing less from his own staff.

She had not bowed and accepted her fate as her coworkers had.

No, Kagome evidently saw it as her duty to speak up on behalf of everyone else.

She rose from her desk as she accused him of being a slave driver, demanding that he allow them all to go home early for the Christmas holiday. Christmas, he told her, was a human notion and one designed purely for profit. As long as there was still work to be done, he expected his staff to stay and do it.

He raised his yoki, expecting her to bow in submission and return to her desk quietly.

Later, Sesshomaru would realize that Kagome never seemed to do what he expected her to do.

"You're a monster," she hissed, glaring at him from the other side of his desk.

"No," he corrected her with a raised brow, "I am _yokai_ , priestess."

The way her reiki flowed against his yoki, sparking with her rage, spurred instincts he had long forgotten in this softer, modern age. The urge to claim, to take, to own, nearly drove him to act upon them.

It was her human tears that stopped him, spilling from her eyes onto the paper he was reviewing, and it was her human heart that he'd realized he wanted from her. He could claim her body, perhaps, but if he simply took her as his kind had once done, long ago, he would never really have her. 

She sniffled, trying to wipe away the dampness from her face. "Don't you have a heart, Sesshomaru?"

He did and he realized now how strong the urge was to prove it to her.

Around them, everyone gasped at her lack of formality. Not only had she used his personal name, she had refrained from any honorifics.

Sesshomaru did not desire an audience. So instead, he rumbled, "Everyone may leave for the holiday." As Kagome turned from him with a self-satisfied look, he added, "Except for you, Higurashi. You will not leave until your work is done."

She flinched as she turned back to him with a contrite look but she seemed to realize an apology would do her no good now. She waited until everyone else left before she glared at him, letting her temper rise once more. " _Seriously_ , Sesshomaru?"

He raised his brows, more to hide his amusement than anything else. No, Kagome never did as he'd expected her to do. "Perhaps, priestess, you should consider the ramifications before you issue such a challenge."

"Or maybe," she snapped, "just _maybe_ , you should have realized that people have plans! People go on dates on Christmas, Sesshomaru!"

"And you?" he rumbled, entranced by the way her face instantly flushed. "Did you have a date for tonight?"

She seemed taken aback by the personal question. "I—well, _no_ , but—"

"Perhaps," he said, the urge to tease her welling up, "you _desire_ one."

She fidgeted but her own need for honesty seemed to overrun her embarrassment. "Well, sure, I would like one, but I'm not seeing anyone at the moment."

He was pleased by her admission. "Are you not seeing me?" 

"Huh?" She blinked and rushed, her face red, "Oh, sorry, that's an expression, Sesshomaru. I just meant that I'm not going out with anyone right now."

"Hnn." He rose and collected his jacket as she floundered in surprise.

She ran her hand nervously over her skirt. "Um, what are you doing?"

"Going out," he said simply, stepping past her to retrieve her jacket as well. She let him help her into it more so, he decided, because he left her no choice. The urge to care for her and look after her was strong and he would not risk allowing her to become sickened because she'd left her jacket off or back at the office due to her astonishment. "As are you."

"Oh." Her eyes went wide as he took her by the arm, placing her hand into the tuck of his elbow, and began to lead her out of the office. "Um, what are you doing? You said we still had work."

He stopped and looked down at her. "You wish a date tonight."

She nodded.

"Therefore I am taking you on a date." He willed her to understand what he found difficult to say himself. When she remained unconvinced, he searched for the words to reassure her. "I have," he stopped for a moment, considering the right word, "been _smitten_ by you since we first met."

Her brows raised. "When you demanded to know why I wasn't working at a shrine?"

He offered her a short nod.

"Dammit, Sesshomaru, why didn't you _say_ something?" she demanded, surprising him in turn as she used her free hand to slap his shoulder lightly. "You're supposed to tell a woman these things!"

There were a lot of reasons he hadn't, including the fact that he was her boss, but he felt that reminding her now would only add heaviness to the mood. So instead, he lifted his chin and said haughtily, "Perhaps you simply did not know how to listen."

She pressed her lips together and growled. "If you're referring to some yokai custom, Sesshomaru—"

He sensed another argument brewing. "Would you prefer traditional Japanese or French cuisine?" He held out a kerchief from his pocket so she could dry her face before they left the office. Fortunately, Kagome generally only wore eyeliner and mascara and it seemed that her makeup hadn't been damaged by her tears.

She took the handkerchief. "Thank you. Um, French, I guess?" she said hesitantly before adding, "You really want to date me?"

"Have I ever said anything that I did not mean?" he challenged her.

"Well, no," she admitted. "But how do you even know if I like you, too?"

To answer, he simply scented the air, obviously enough for her to catch the gesture.

"Sesshomaru!" she hissed, slapping his arm as he chuckled darkly. 

"Come," he told her. "Let us enjoy this human tradition of yours to the fullest." Sensing that she might appreciate the admission, he confessed, "I have never done so before."

With that, the last tension in her body melted away. "Never?" she breathed. "But you're at least five hundred years old!"

He stiffened at the reminder.

To his surprise, she petted his arm, calming him down in a gesture that should have been thoroughly yokai.

"Hush, I didn't say it was a bad thing. It's nice to be your first," she admitted. "Alright! Before we go to dinner, we should get a cake for later. They'll run out soon, but I think we could get a really nice one. I like chocolate, but I'm open to anything you want, since it's your first Christmas. It's too late to really get each other a good present, but maybe if we stop somewhere after we get the cake, we could get something nice and—"

She continued to ramble as he led her out of the office but he didn't mind. He found that while he'd been smitten by her willfulness, he was entranced by the sound of her voice and the way she gently leaned into him, making him feel more powerful with her at his side.


	6. Celebrity Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from Revang: Celebrity crush
> 
> AU

Kagome would sooner die than admit it to anyone else, but she had a crush on Ito Sesshomaru.

Ito was a legend and well-believed to be the best corporate attorney in all of Japan. He was well-known for being ruthless and cunning, taking on cases for high-profile cases for corporations that most had deemed a total loss.

And then, somehow, Ito always won.

He was a law onto himself. Unlike other attorneys, his was a private practice and he had no legal secretaries or assistants to help him with his case load, though he could easily afford a fully-staffed office. If not on his own wages, than on that of his father's, who had been a judge before he'd moved into the political sphere. If it had been anyone else, they would have played up their father's connections but Ito refused to be associated with his father in the business world. Personally, it was rumored the two were close, but neither ever spoke about the other in public.

Kagome often searched for anything she could find on Ito, but it was slim pickings had had been over the last ten years he'd been running his practice. He'd caught her eye when she'd been following one case that had impacted Sango, her best friend, whose father had been sued by a company who accused him of stealing from the very company his firm had been hired to protect as security guards and bodyguards. They'd both been in high school, their senior year, and hadn't been prepared for the upheaval the case had brought.

Sango's father had found and hired Ito, a brand new attorney on the scene. It was a case Ito hadn't expected to win because he'd been going up against a juggernaut of a company and Sango's family had few, if any, assets they could liquidate to fuel the defense. Yet Ito hadn't batted an eye, even when Sango's family had all been terrified that if they'd lost the case, her father might have criminal charges pressed as well.

And yet Ito had won, successfully countersuing and proving that it had been a senior officer of the other company who had stolen the funds. Ito had taken it even further than that. He'd demanded the contract penalty for breaking the contract with Sango's father and had also demanded recompense for the damage to Sango's father's company's brand.

Ever since then, Ito had become Kagome's personal hero and she'd scoured the news, the web, and the gossip columns for any information or pictures she could find of him.

Unfortunately, no one knew anything about Ito's personal life at all, but Kagome, in her most private daydreams, pictured him living with her, whispering soft words of affection and cuddling her after a rough day. Not even Sango knew how much Kagome fantasized about a man she'd only met in passing a handful of times.

 _Well_ , she reflected, _it's more like it's been a rough year._

And it had been. Kagome had taken over the orphanage next to her family's shrine when the old caretaker had died several months ago. It was that or allow the orphanage to close and she couldn't allow that. She was too close to all of the kids and all too aware of how they depended on the orphanage and its meager donations. 

It was only after she'd taken over that she'd learned the prior caretaker, Tanaka-san, had been struggling to pay the bills and had taken out a huge mortgage to help make ends meet. The loan's payments were more than anyone could afford and still keep the children healthy, so Tanaka-san had taken out a second loan to pay the first. 

It had gone from bad to worse.

The mortgage had been predatory, with an interest rate that skyrocketed each year, and it was now almost thirty-seven percent each year. She knew if she had the money, she could prove the mortgage brokers had taken advantage of the old and senile Tanaka-san, but she lacked the wealthy or political backing. Worse still, the mortgage company was now threatening to file legal action for default and they wanted to seize the property and rebuild.

She'd later found out they'd been intending that all along for a cheap and easy sale to build a large apartment building where her little orphanage sat.

Ito would know what to do but even if she could contact Ito, she couldn't afford to pay him.

She sighed heavily as she sat on the front steps outside the orphanage, out of view of the children. Sango had brought Miroku, her fiancé, over to volunteer so Kagome could regroup but she was no better off than she had been last night when she'd gotten the call that the bank would be foreclosing on on the property if she didn't pay in full within the next week.

"How do I tell the children I've failed?" She buried her head in her hands as she thought of the eleven children who depended on her, all of whom were considered 'undesirables' by most of the people who went looking to adopt children. Shippo, the prankster. Yuri, the one who loved playing with hair. Shiori, the quiet one. Souten, the one who declared herself Shippo's rival for Kagome's affections. Jin, the leader of all the kids. Airi, the—

A loud cough suddenly interrupted her thoughts and she blinked, suddenly seeing a man standing before her.

Or, well, a man's pants, at any rate, crisply ironed without a hint of stain or wrinkle.

"Woman."

She blinked again. The voice sounded familiar but she wasn't expecting any visitors. Certainly no one looking to adopt children, at least; she took great care to remember those days so she could prepare the children and the orphanage in advance. "Yes?" she said hesitantly as she stared at his shoes. They were leather, impeccably polished until they shone, without a hint of dirt on them despite the dirty stone steps he'd trekked up.

She guessed he had to be either rich or OCD.

He clicked his tongue and she jerked her head up to look at him in response. Her breath caught as she willed herself not to blush, recognizing who he was instantly.

Ito Sesshomaru.

"You are Higurashi Kagome, are you not?" he asked and though his tone was annoyed, his lips pulled in a small smirk of amusement at her reaction.

 _He knows my name_ , she thought to herself faintly, feeling weak at the way he rumbled it. "Yeah, that's me." She licked her dry lips, oblivious to how the motion seemed to distract him for a moment. "Um, hello, Ito-san. Welcome to Sunset Orphanage."

He eyed the orphanage behind her for a moment before his gaze drifted back to him. "I understand that you are in a bit of trouble."

"That's a bit of an understatement," she admitted dryly, thinking of all the problems currently plaguing her. She wondered idly who had been the one to contact Ito and why he'd come over to the orphanage in the first place. "Why are you here?"

His posture straightened. "I should think that is fairly obvious," he said flatly. "I am here to assist you with your current legal predicament, _Kagome_."

She gaped at him, unable to hide her flush as he used her personal name. They barely knew each other and yet it sounded so right to have him use her name. "Y-you are?" 

He nodded as he gave her an amused grin, small though it was. "Come," he said, holding out a hand to help her up from her seat on one of the steps. "You will tell me more about your situation over lunch. I have the distinct impression that you have not been looking after yourself properly. Your friends will look after the children while we're away."

He was right, but she'd sooner die than admit it. "I can't pay you," she blurted as she took his hand.

"Perhaps I am not here for monetary reasons." He sniffed. "I would not accept funds from an impoverished orphanage, at any rate."

The look he gave her then couldn't be mistaken and yet she had trouble accepting it anyway. Ito, her hero, could not be looking at her with desire, with longing. He was too far out of her reach, even if he'd somehow been convinced to help her pro-bono—

"Kagome." He clicked his tongue at her distraction. "It seems that you have misunderstood my intentions, so let me be clear. I am here to assist you with your current legal troubles, free of charge. What is more, my father recently read of your orphanage in a little article in the newspaper—" Kagome remembered that interview last week when she'd been trying to drum up funds in a desperate attempt to save the place, "—and he has taken it upon himself to reach out amongst the community's wealthy men for funds and adoptions. I imagine you will find your orphanage well funded in the upcoming months, if nothing else."

She stared at him, unable to process what he was saying due to her own surprise.

"But I am not here to discuss my father nor his efforts with you. My father's actions are his own." Ito raised his chin. "I am here for _you_ , Kagome. Your work at the orphanage, first as a volunteer and then as the manager, have surpassed all expectations. Your drive, your empathy, your desire to succeed have been the only things keeping the doors open. Perhaps you do not recall that we met some seven years before, here at this very orphanage, when I adopted an infant, Rin, but I certainly remember _you_."

Kagome's eyes widened. She'd remembered Rin's adoption, mostly because Rin's backstory had been so very tragic. Someone had simply left Rin outside in a basket on the steps of a senator's house and then vanished, abandoning the girl in the rain without so much ringing the doorbell to let anyone know the baby was there.

Kagome had named her Rin because she couldn't handle the idea of a girl without a name at her orphanage when the girl had been delivered the following morning, with the notice that someone would be along to adopt her.

But she hadn't realized the business man who'd adopted Rin had been Ito. How could she have missed it? She'd hero worshipped Ito and yet, she recalled the timeframe he'd visited. Her father had just passed away in a car accident and her younger brother had been diagnosed with cancer. Sota had eventually recovered, but Kagome hadn't been it the best frame of mind. Tanaka-san had handled most of the work and Kagome had only met the man who'd adopted Rin twice during the entire exchange.

She remembered the circumstances, though, because the entire case had been so odd. A baby, left at a senator's house—

The senator. Kagome's eyes widened, suddenly remembering whose house Rin had been abandoned at.

"She was left at your father's house," she blurted.

He nodded. "And she has been a member of our family ever since. All that remained was to formalize it."

The rest of his words hit her. "You're here for me," she repeated the words slowly, trying to process it.

He nodded again. "I did not think my affections would be returned," he murmured slowly, leading her down the steps. "You did nothing to acknowledge me."

She turned bright red. "I wasn't in a good frame of mind. It was a bad time for me."

"So I later learned." He moved to open the car door for her of an expensive black SUV. As she climbed inside, she noticed an empty booster seat in the backseat, decorated with little flower stickers. "Rin."

He chuckled as he helped her with the seatbelt. "Rin," he agreed. "You will meet her again later."

The later, laden with promise, had her flushing all over again. "Right, later." She bobbed her head, hoping she'd hidden how happy that promise made her.

He chuckled again as he shut the door, letting her know that her feelings hadn't escaped his notice. As he made his way to the driver's seat and climbed into the car, Kagome blurted, "This is real?"

"It is real," he confirmed, his lips pulling into another small smile. "There is a quiet cafe around the corner. We will talk more there of what the future will hold, Kagome." He indicated the vents. "If you become too chilled, feel free to adjust the vents or anything else in the car to your comfort."

And Kagome, thinking back to her silly daydreams, flushed with quiet delight. Ito Sesshomaru, as it turned out, was a gentle, sweet man.

And now, she thought faintly, he would be _hers_.


	7. Stargazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Stargazing, accidental date style, requested by Lee
> 
> Post-canon

Kagome was stretched out in the grass, arm tucked under her head to pillow it, stargazing when Sesshomaru approached. She never got tired of looking at the stars in the feudal era because, with all of all the light pollution in her time, she hadn't grown up with such an incredible view.

She loved the stars but most of all, she loved the moon. She loved watching its phases and the fact that every night, it was a little bit different than the one before.

"Priestess."

She turned her head to see Sesshomaru standing nearby. "Hello, Sesshomaru," she greeted him simply.

"What are you doing?" His expression was quietly curious.

She smiled peacefully. "Stargazing." She waved her free hand at the stars above them. She didn't know what compelled her to add, "Want to join me?"

He studied her for a moment and then, to her surprise, settled down beside her to stargaze. "What is it about this activity that you find intriguing?" he asked as they both turned their attention to the stars above.

"Hmm." She considered his question. "Lots of things, I guess. Some people find pictures in the stars and make up stories about them. Some people study the movements and brightness of star. I like those things, too, but I just feel peaceful out here like this." 

"Hnn." He exhaled slowly, sounding peaceful. "Perhaps it is a human sentiment."

She nodded, content to leave it at that. For awhile, they just lay there, just out of arm's reach of one another.

After some time passed, she blurted, "You know, where I'm from, this is usually considered a romantic activity. A date." His eyes widened and she began backpedaling with a nervous chuckle. "Oh, not that _you_ would want to go on a date with _me_ —ahh, or court me or anything, of course. Obviously, that's not what you'd want; I mean we barely know each other, right? So what if we kind of took on Naraku together; that's not a basis for a—"

"Kagome."

She turned to stare at him, eyes wide with shock. She couldn't even recall the last time he'd addressed her by name. "Sesshomaru?" she squeaked. She coughed and tried again, her voice far too husky for her own liking, "Sesshomaru?"

"Be quiet."

She flinched, thinking for a moment that she'd offended him, but then she saw the mirth in his eyes and she scoffed. She opened her mouth to protest his teasing, only to find herself at a loss for words as he leaned over her.

"It is fortunate," he said as he loomed over, "that I do not mind how much you talk."

And then, before his words fully settled over her, he bent his head and kissed her.


	8. Eros and Psyche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Janis' prompt: Eros and Psyche.
> 
> AU - feudal era style.

Kikyo had been chosen to be the sacrifice to the great inu daiyokai who had recently come into his power. The village hoped that by offering Kikyo up as a blood sacrifice, the daiyokai's blood lust might be satisfied and he would allow the village to remain in peace.

Kikyo had taken the news of her fate with serenity, though Kagome knew that the other village priestess had to be suffering inside. The two young women had spent over a decade together, both apprentices under Kaede until the elder priestess' death the year before.

And Kagome knew that Kikyo had recently received a proposal. Kikyo had been secretive about who she was seeing and Kagome couldn't blame her friend. Priestesses were supposed to remain pure to keep their power—a notion Kaede had scoffed at more than once. Kaede had a wild youth, she'd informed them, and had still kept all of her holy powers intact.

But the village they lived in was traditional and they were not understanding. Kikyo would never be forgiven for turning her back on duty for love and Kagome had firmly suspected the elder priestess had been making plans to leave with her lover in secret.

Plans that would now prove fruitless.

_Unless..._

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she thought. Kagome wasn't romantically involved in anyone—no one ever even paid her any attention with Kikyo's refined beauty always nearby as a ready source of distraction. Kagome herself had plenty of holy power—Kikyo even believed that Kagome possessed more, even if she'd had less training under Kaede's tutelage—enough to even placate a daiyokai.

She shivered at the thought but her mind was already made up. Kikyo deserved the happiness she found.

But the villagers, Kagome knew, would never accept Kagome as a replacement. In their eyes, she was always second-best.

So, she would have to take matters into her own hands.

Resolutely, Kagome took the rope that had been set aside, now blessed by Kikyo herself, and made her way to tie herself to the rock and await her fate.

Sesshomaru, the great daiyokai of the west, flew over his lands on his cloud, reflecting on the last year's events. Now that he'd come into his power with a sword of his own, he was the most powerful yokai in all of Nippon.

He could, he thought to himself, start a war with someone else but there wasn't anyone left on his level to be worth the challenge and resources. No, a war would simply be a disappointment. 

He could find some task in need of doing at his shiro but that sounded as boring as the paperwork that had no doubt piled up in his absence.

He could mate, perhaps, as his mother had been urging, but no female had managed to capture and hold his attention long enough for him to consider her as a viable candidate. 

Sesshomaru sighed heavily. If he returned with nothing to distract himself, he could almost bet on his mother once again renewing her efforts to see him mated, wed, and with an heir on the way.

Perhaps he would visit Totosai and commission new armor to celebrate his recent accession to power and the fact that he'd finally surpassed his father...

Suddenly, something caught his eye and he slowed, wanting to get a better look in the evening sky.

A woman, he realized, had been bound haphazardly to a rock. He sensed the quiet spark of her reiki and realized she was a priestess. This realization was further supported by her traditional priestess clothing and the shimenawa that bound her to the rock.

What was more, she appeared to be trying to get his attention, struggling against the rope that bound her to wave at him. When he met her gaze, she smiled.

_Odd human._

If it had been any other day, he would have flown by without paying her any attention. However, he admitted to himself that his boredom compelled him to move closer and so he did, dropping lower until his cloud fell away and he stood on the rocky outcrop on the high shoreline the priestess was bound to.

"Priestess," he rumbled, wondering what had compelled her to signal him—and why he was so interested.

"Inu-daiyokai-sama." She bowed her head in respect. "The village has offered me as blood payment for your leniency in making their lives here." She took a deep breath. "Um, I just hope I didn't make the rope too difficult for you to bite me in your true form. I had to tie it myself, you see, and it was more difficult than I'd expected."

He had the distinct impression that there was more that she was not telling him. "Is it a human ritual to tie yourself up when you are the offering?"

He supposed in the end, it mattered little. His father had forbade human sacrifice and Sesshomaru himself saw no reason to reinstate that policy now that he'd come into his power. He cared naught for what humans did so long as they kept to themselves.

"Um." She bit down on her lower lip and then suddenly brightened. "Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? When the villagers see my blood on the rock, they'll know you were pleased and accepted their gift and that's all that matters."

He raised a brow at her assumption. "This one is not interested in accepting anything from humans."

"Wait!" she called after him as he turned to leave. "You don't understand! If you reject me, they'll see it as I'm unworthy and I'll be sacrificed anyway and worse, they'll keep at it until they _do_ find something that placates you!"

He sneered at that notion. "There is nothing humans could offer that would have any value to this one."

She opened her mouth but didn't get a chance to reply.

"Kagome!" Kikyo came running over to the rock, followed by a familiar hanyo. "You fool!"

Kagome stared. "A hanyo...?"

_InuYasha..._

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as his brother growled, too low to be audible to humans. "What're you doing here, asshole?" InuYasha ground out, glaring at his half-brother.

"So this is where you escaped to." Sesshomaru was amused at how low his half-brother had fallen, following around a human priestess as if she were his master. How fitting of his human blood...

InuYasha's hands moved to the hilt of his sword.

"InuYasha!" Kikyo sounded frantic, though it was of little concern to Sesshomaru. "We have to free her before the villagers wake up and realize what she's done! They'll kill her for interfering in this, InuYasha!"

"But I had to!" The priestess—Kagome, he presumed—cried out. "Kikyo, you deserve to be happy!" She hesitated for a moment and then plowed on lamely, evidently realizing the significance of the hanyo's presence, "Ah, he looks very nice. I didn't know your fiancé had silver hair."

InuYasha huffed. "It's _white_ ," he stressed, looking annoyed. He'd never appreciated the silver comment, complaining that it made him feel old.

Sesshomaru thought InuYasha just sounded like an idiot.

"Right." Kagome's brows were raised but she didn't press the subject. "You both need to go before anyone finds you here."

"Kagome..." Kikyo's face grew more stern. "I will _not_ allow you to do this."

"It's my choice," Kagome defended. She nodded at Sesshomaru, to his surprise. "And his. And he's already accepted," she lied.

Sesshomaru's gaze narrowed and he opened his mouth to correct her assumption.

"See, Kikyo?" InuYasha sounded relieved. "The bastard will take care of her. He never shirks his duty. We can always check in on her later at his place. It's a nice shiro, even if it is the bastard's."

Sesshomaru flexed his claws. His shiro was more than simply _nice_.

"Very well..." Kikyo let InuYasha draw her back and usher her onto his back. "I will see you soon, Kagome." She glared at Sesshomaru and he blinked at the vehemence he saw there. "You. If anything happens to her, I will ensure you pay it back...in full."

Her power rose as she spoke but he would not give her the satisfaction of seeing any reaction.

"I'm sorry about Kikyo," Kagome said apologetically as she left. "She can be very strong-willed."

"Hnn." Sesshomaru considered the matter. He had been ushered into caring for her by her lie and the hanyo's own presence during that lie. To allow her to die at the villagers' hands would be most dishonorable.

Yet it would be a nuisance to bring her with him. She was human and—

He smirked, absently noticing the twinge of arousal and fear that emanated from her as he did so. Human. She was human. His mother had been all but forcing him to mate but if she'd learned he'd chosen a _human_ as a mate, she would expend all of her energy on ensuring the two could never mate.

It would be perfect. His honor, forced into this as it had been, would be intact while his _mother_ would be the one forced to deal with the problem.

"Very well." Sesshomaru used his poisonous whip to free her of her bindings. 

She stared at him in surprise. "Um, well, I guess the rope probably wouldn't taste very good..."

He ignored her mutterings as irrelevant. "You will not move or speak until this one gives you permission. Understood?" He waited for her to nod before he continued. "This one has agreed to accept your life as his to do with as he pleases. You will seek to obey him in all things. Now," he stopped, recalling her words about blood. He stepped up to her and slit her palm, letting the blood well before he smeared it, palm and all, on the rock as she hissed in pain. "We will depart."

His cloud formed under him and he was pleased she obeyed, moving as he gestured her onto it and then silently letting him take to the air with her.

After a few moments, however, she seemed to forget his warning. "Where are we going?"

His jaw tightened. "Home. Now be quiet."

She fell silent and he sighed in relief. There was something about her voice that tugged at him and he found he didn't like it. 

"And then what?" she asked suddenly.

He took a deep breath. "Be silent."

He felt the spark of her reiki against him and cursed under his breath. If her voice had somehow broken through his barrier, her reiki had all but smashed it as it moved, teasingly, against his yoki. 

Perhaps, he admitted to himself, he was more captivated by the human woman on his cloud than he'd allowed himself to realize. It would explain why he had stayed his hand and not killed her when he'd had the chance.

Was he more like his father than he'd realized?

No. His lips thinned. He could not, _would_ not—

"Inu-daiyokai?" she prompted, her reiki quieting to his relief. "I know this is not what you wanted, but it is my life too, you know."

She moved, despite his warning growl, to grab a hold of his sides and his obi to steady herself, and despite himself, he shivered slightly at the heat of her touch. She'd managed to find the one place where he had no armor on his torso to touch.

_Infuriating woman._

And yet he could not find the voice to insist she desist. In spite of everything, he found that he enjoyed her touch.

He sped up. He needed to reach home before he did something truly intolerable, like mate with the woman.

"Mother," he greeted as they landed in his courtyard, noting the look of displeasure on his mother's face. "Allow me to introduce my mate-to-be."

The priestess stiffened as he wrapped one hand around her hip and pulled her to him. He rumbled soothingly to her, as much to soothe her as to irk his mother.

His mother studied the girl for a moment. "You're sure?" she asked neutrally but he could sense her ire that lurked beneath her genial manner.

He nodded shortly, resenting himself for how much he enjoyed the feel of her pressed against him.

"Very well," his mother said to his surprise. "Then we will prepare for a mating at once. After all," she added, raising a brow, "you would not have brought a human priestess to your mother if you were not serious. It seems that even I could not hope to sway my beloved pup in this."

He swallowed back his surprise at how his spectacular plan had backfired. "Mother..."

"Ah ah." She snapped her fan shut. "There is no need to thank your mother. A swift mating and impregnation will be thanks enough, Sesshomaru. It has been too long since your mother has had a baby around."

"Mating?" Kagome hissed, glaring up at him as her reiki once again rose to tease his, sparking with her irritation.

"Later," he ground out, realizing his mother had already moved away to give the orders to expand his rooms to accommodate his new mate. "This one will discuss the situation with you _later_." He pulled away from her to go stop his mother's meddling.

But, to his surprise, he was stopped by Kagome's gentle kiss to his jaw, the highest she could reach without his assistance. "Thank you for not killing me," she said quietly, unaware of the turmoil she'd unleashed within him by her very inu-like action. "I'll do my best to make a good wife."

"Hnn." The tension fled at her kiss and it took everything he had not to show her what a real kiss would be like. He would not succumb to these odd desires or to her, he promised himself as he strode away, ignoring the quiet, pleased look on her face at his reaction to her kiss.

He ignored the voice in the back of his mind that tauntingly suggested that he already had.


	9. Friends to Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Drosselmeyer's prompt: Friends to lovers
> 
> Post-canon

They started off as enemies, with Sesshomaru intending to kill her.

After Naraku's defeat and her return to the feudal era, they shifted into an uneasy tolerance of one another. They rarely spoke at all, at first, until the day he'd found her lounging in the grass, playing a makeshift Go game with Miroku, using rocks.

Sesshomaru had been intrigued. Evidently he'd loved the game of Go and he was _good_ at it.

Since Kagome had beaten Miroku on both games Sesshomaru had observed, he'd demanded to play her.

Sesshomaru was as good as he'd claimed. Kagome's games with Miroku were often short and quick—unless they were distracted by conversation—but her game with Sesshomaru took over forty-five minutes where she'd felt more like his prey than a true combatant. He was ruthless, chasing her pieces across the board until he'd conquered her last piece. 

Kagome stared at the board. "Huh," she muttered to herself, still surprised that she'd lost. "You're a good player, Sesshomaru."

He huffed, though his eyes glinted with delight. "This one has been playing for almost three hundred years. It is hardly surprising that a human of your years would lose, priestess."

She snorted, more to mask her annoyance at his words than anything else. "Well, then I'm surprised it took you so long to win," she taunted. "Seems like we're more evenly matched than anything to me."

He raised his brow at that. "Very well," he said, reseting the 'board' Kagome and Miroku had etched into a piece of dried wood. "Perhaps another game will make you aware of your failings as a player."

"Or remind you of yours." She lifted her chin, refusing to back down.

To her surprise, there was a slight grin at his lips as he inclined his head just before she made her first move.

He ended up beating her again, though she played better that round, she thought. She'd insisted on a third, which she won, but only just, and that had made Sesshomaru demand a fourth. To her irritation, he'd won the fourth, a fact he was clearly smug about.

Before she could insist on a fifth round, Miroku interrupted to remind Kagome that Sango and Rin had dinner waiting, stressing the fact that _the sun was setting_.

"Another day, perhaps," Sesshomaru offered, a balm to her pride at the thought of beating him another day.

"Another day," Kagome agreed, knowing that what Sesshomaru said, he meant.

As his cloud formed beneath him, he remarked offhand, "You are a better player than this one had expected."

And Kagome, to her embarrassment, _blushed_.

After that, their relationship shifted from uneasy acquaintances to friends, though she suspected that he'd never admit that himself. Whenever he would arrive at the little village to visit Rin, he would invariably seek out Kagome for several games of Go, stopping only when Miroku came to remind her of dinner.

The routine went on for several months before it began to change.

Kagome couldn't quite put her finger on what it was but both their gameplay and his overall demeanor began to change, so minutely that she couldn't even pinpoint exactly when it had become.

Perhaps, she reflected to herself as she waited for him to finish catching up with Rin one afternoon, it had been when he'd showed up one day with a new and proper Go board, one that she'd known instantly had been very expensive. She'd tried to refuse the gift for its sheer wealth but he'd refused, insisting that he wouldn't continue to play on a poorly constructed board. Of course, she'd have to keep the game for him—after all, where would he keep it—and his argument had been so practical that it had seemed rude to refuse him.

So, she'd kept the game, telling herself that she did it as a favor for him.

But the Go board had been joined by other gifts over the last two months—all, ostensibly, for his own benefit. The thick haori and blanket he'd brought her as the weather began to cool was simply so that her frail human body couldn't distract her from the game. The ornate, jewel-encrusted comb was because her hair had been disheveled last time he'd seen her—she'd spent the morning helping Kaede deliver a baby that had gotten wrapped up in the umbilical cord and it had gotten messy as they'd worked to save his life—and he didn't wish to be distracted from the game by such a view. 

Most recently he'd shown up with a bag of bitter tea leaves that he'd claimed would help alleviate the pain of her menstrual cramps that had been plaguing her and keeping her in too much pain to play. She hadn't asked where he'd gotten the herbs but to her surprise, they'd worked, and he'd declared offhand, as though it was nothing, that he would bring her more next time.

She finally understood that morning when InuYasha, back from his patrol of the village and its surrounding land, had commented offhand on the oddity of the gifts, though he hadn't show as much interest when he'd learned they came from Sesshomaru. He'd just huffed and commented that she was dense.

That had provoked her into bringing up the gifts to Sango, still nursing her young son. Sango hadn't been surprised about anything except that Kagome had taken so long to ask about what was obviously courting gifts.

Evidently, Sango had expected Sesshomaru to mention what they were.

Kagome suspected that he hadn't because she'd been so quick to reject the first one without understanding its purpose.

She smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle on the haori he'd given her as Sesshomaru came into view. "This is a courting gift," she blurted.

He stopped and considered her for a moment. "Hnn." He inclined his head.

"You've been bringing me courting gifts," she repeated, unable to believe it.

"And you have accepted them," he remarked, running a hand idly through a strand of silvery hair.

"Well, yes," she admitted, "but I didn't know what they were for!"

"You did not ask."

She stared at him, trying to read his expression. It softened as she stared but still, she wanted to make sure. "Why?"

He stiffened. "It should be obvious." He then sighed as she looked at him pleadingly. "This one desires to be with you, Kagome. Do you not feel the same?"

She brightened. "Of course I do. I just wanted to hear it. It's a human thing."

"Hnn." At her amused grin, he relaxed, his expression softening again. "It is a good thing that this one cares not if his wife is a terrible Go player."

She raised her brow. "Terrible? I'll have you know I've beaten you twelve times—"

"In nearly seven months. It is not a great record," he said, his lips twitching as he teased her. "But you will find that your soon-to-be husband is gentleman enough not to remind you of his many wins."

Kagome decided he wasn't going to be the sole winner this time. She stepped up to him, grabbed the sides of his armor, and used it to pull herself up so she could kiss him. His surprise only lasted for a moment before he took control, deepening the kiss with a challenging air that made her want to try and seduce him in turn.

Later, she would claim she won, but the smug look on his face would always remind her of who, exactly, had been the one to scream that night.


	10. Animals Vs Sesshomaru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Animals vs Sesshomaru, as requested by Kousei and Chie.

"Swans." Kagome stared at her mate as the white birds in their pond squawked noisily, flapping large feathery wings as they settled upon the surface of the water. "Why are there swans in our pond, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru looked completely unrepentant. "You wished for wildlife."

She groaned. "Yes, but I meant native wildlife, Sesshomaru! Like cranes or crows. You," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "deliberately chose imported birds."

"They are rare and valuable." He sniffed. "I would settle for no less in the House of the West."

One of the swans squawked as it turned and Kagome suddenly had a very bad feeling. "Um, Sesshomaru?" she said hesitantly. "You know swans bite, right?"

He sniffed again. "They would not _dare_."

The swan dared. 

It charged after Sesshomaru, wings outstretched as its neck bent, ready to snap whatever flesh of Sesshomaru's it could reach. 

And Sesshomaru, who never fled from anything in his life, was forced to run when he realized the pain one of those bites could inflict. She could see his mind whirling, evaluating whether or not to simply slice the swan in half.

She hid a snicker. "Don't you _dare_ ," she said in response. "You wanted those swans so you got them."

Sesshomaru didn't get a chance to answer as the rest of the swans turned on him, ready to bite.

He later proclaimed that the swans were going back and the human merchant who sold them, Sesshomaru swore, would soon learn the error of his ways. 


	11. Animals Vs Sesshomaru, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: The children want a horse but the horse does not get along with Sesshomaru, as requested by Kousei

Kagome walked into the stables and stopped short, noticing something immediately.

Or rather, the _lack_ of something. 

She immediately turned on her heel and headed back into the shiro to face her mate. "Sesshomaru," she said levelly, "where is Naru?"

He looked up from the scroll he was writing. "Naru?" he asked, raising his brow.

She glared at him, knowing that he knew damn well who Naru was. "The pony," she said, stressing, "for the _children_."

Sesshomaru set aside the finished scroll and picked up a blank one. "The pony," he stressed in turn, "was dangerous and the children are not to be placed at risk. For their own safety, the pony has been removed."

Kagome gaped at her husband. Naru had never, not even once, even so much as nipped any of their children, let alone bucked or kicked. Naru was a sweet and gentle gelding with a quiet nature. Kind of like Sesshomaru, she reflected. "Naru is harmless," she blurted, astonished at why Sesshomaru would have decided the pony was suddenly dangerous.

Sesshomaru set aside his brush and ink and rested his arms on the table and it was only then that Kagome saw several bite marks on his wrists. "The pony is dangerous," he repeated firmly.

"Naru bit you." Kagome stared at the bite marks.

He immediately moved to tug down his sleeves to hide the marks from her gaze. "Hnn." He wouldn't meet her gaze.

Kagome moved over to him and tugged back his sleeves. "What happened?"

He flushed slightly. "It is irrelevant." He sat back. "The horse is gone. I will inform the children later. Perhaps the next gift you buy them will be less... _animated_."

Kagome hid a grin, deciding against teasing him just then when he already seemed so put out. "Maybe we'll get them a garden," she said instead with a teasing smile. 

He looked relieved as he nodded. "That would be acceptable."

And Kagome just chuckled to herself as she left the room. Evidently she'd finally found a flaw in her seemingly perfect mate: Sesshomaru had difficulty with mortal animals.


	12. Where is Breakfast?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The accidental prompt: Where is Breakfast from StormieLikeWeather  
> (Because oops I thought it was a prompt and got an idea but then it wasn't so here we are.)
> 
> Post-canon

"Where's my breakfast?" InuYasha complained from his prone position on the floor of their hut.

She rolled her eyes. "You're injured. Kaede said no food until the hole in your stomach closes."

He huffed and rolled his eyes back. "The old hag knows nothing," he groused but didn't press the point.

Kagome shook her head. "Rin's coming with me but Kaede will be by later, InuYasha."

He grunted. "I don't need babysitting."

"Then think of it more as you're protecting her if anyone comes into the village," Kagome said, her voice sickly sweet.

"Keh. Like anyone would want to fight that old bitch," he said sourly, trying and failing to disguise his affection for the old priestess.

Kagome left the hut, not bothering to get in the last word, and bumped into Kaede outside who had a smirk tugging at her lips. "He's a fool," she grumbled but Kaede was just as bad at hiding her affection for InuYasha as he was for her.

Kagome grinned and then paused. "Where's Rin?" she asked, noticing that the teen was absent.

"Down with her lady pain." Kaede grimaced but there was mild concern in her gaze. "She will be useless for the next few days."

Kagome nodded, reevaluating her checklist for the day to allow for what she could reasonably acquire herself without Rin's help. Poor Rin; the girl had wound up with cramps worse than anyone else Kagome had ever met and after all that Rin had been through, it really wasn't fair.

She made her way out into the forest, wanting first to get more bark that Kaede used to brew a tea for arthritis, but stopped short when she saw a familiar large white inuyokai racing through the sky above her.

_Sesshomaru..._

Her eyes widened as she saw several other inuyokai chasing him, their coloring varying shades of gray, brown, and red.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," she muttered to herself, figuring it was good and well that Rin was in too much pain to move. Rin would have been disappointed that Sesshomaru had passed by without a visit.

She continued on her way, stopping short when something rustled the bushes behind her. She turned, bow in hand, and shot, fearing the worst when a pulse of yoki accompanied the noise.

To her horror, she shot a deer and it thumped to the ground as it died. 

She cursed under her breath. It was a waste to kill it but it would be a bigger waste to leave it. With InuYasha wounded, she couldn't take it back herself so she tabled all ideas of herb collecting and instead made a quick fire to break down the deer, cook the meat, and take the meat and marrow back. Kaede, at least, could benefit from the fresh marrow.

As she wearily began prepping the deer, she saw Sesshomaru, still in his true form, race back across the sky and this time it seemed that the females had fallen further behind. She wasn't really sure what to make of the sight, especially when he began heading towards the ground nearby.

He changed as he landed, appearing human once more, and his gaze immediately fell on the deer. 

She made a quick decision as he stared, his eyes tinged with red. "You can have it if you want it," she blurted, not willing to fight him over a deer. If he wanted it that badly, he could have it as far as she was concerned.

He looked over at her with an expression of surprise. "You would offer this one your kill?" he said, his voice low and flat.

"Um, sure?" She wasn't sure if that was the answer he expected but she really did not need the meat and if he wanted it, why bother fighting him over it when she would need her strength to argue with her friend later? InuYasha wasn't likely to be in a good mood if he didn't heal enough to make it through his human night tonight without pain.

He stared at her for a moment longer as though he was deciding something. "Very well," he said, inclining his head as if he was doing _her_ a favor by taking the deer. "This one accepts."

"Right." She stepped back to let him have the deer but to her surprise, he moved towards her. "Um, what are you doing?" she asked, holding firm. She had never backed down from Sesshomaru before and she certainly wasn't going to start now.

She was pretty certain he wouldn't bother killing her now, at any rate.

"Accepting," was his calm reply, his voice deepening as he added, "your request for mating."

Kagome's eyes widened as she realized he'd misinterpreted her offer somehow. "Sesshomaru, that's not—"

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken came rushing through the trees, waving his staff.

"Quiet, Jaken." Sesshomaru didn't even look at the other yokai. "This one has already chosen."

Jaken's eyes widened as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, at a loss for words.

"Jaken. Leave," Sesshomaru added, his gaze heating as he reached for his armor. " _Now_."

Jaken fled.

Kagome swallowed back a lump at the lust that filled Sesshomaru's gaze and she whimpered quietly as he pulled his armor free, setting it and his swords aside as he stared at her. "Sesshomaru—" she tried again.

If he recognized her attempt to stop him, he evidently didn't care. "You will disrobe," he said, advancing on her.

She inhaled sharply as he reached for his haori. She really, really didn't know how she got herself into these sort of messes.

When he brought her breakfast later, _after_ , she decided she didn't care. This, she thought to herself happily, was the absolute best kind of mess.


	13. The Wedding Planner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: InuKimi wants the best wedding for her son. Too bad he and Kagome don't agree.  
> Prompt from SugarDropsomeArt
> 
> Post-canon

"No," Kagome said flatly, immediately rejecting the idea.

Sesshomaru's mother, Ryoshi, snapped her fan shut. "You are being difficult, _daughter_."

Kagome did not so much as flinch at the look of bored displeasure on Ryoshi's face. She'd never backed down with Sesshomaru and she certainly wasn't about to begin with his mother. "We want a small wedding, Ryoshi-sama." She lifted her chin. "We've already chosen the guests and—"

"So what are a few hundred more? Our family is not broke, Kagome, and it is time that the wealth was used for something other than Sesshomaru's penchant for expensive armor and clothing." Ryoshi gave an unladylike snort. "This one simply does not know where the boy inherited such an odd proclivity."

Kagome silently stared at the elaborate, multilayered kimono Ryoshi wore, wondering how his mother could even move as quickly as she did, laden down by so many clothes.

"Simply leave it up to me, dear daughter. This one will ensure that all is taken care of. Oh!" she shouted as Kagome opened her mouth to protest. "The florist has finally arrived!"

Ryoshi dashed off towards the courtyard with inhuman speed and Kagome, groaning, rushed after her. The inuyokai could simply not be left to her own devices or Kagome and Sesshomaru wouldn't _have_ a wedding at all.

They would have a damn grand ball, complete, she was sure, with jewel-encrusted kimono.

"Your mother is driving me crazy," Kagome complained as she settled beside Sesshomaru for the night.

He snorted. "It is to be expected," he replied flatly. "It is how she has been amusing herself for decades."

Kagome glowered at her fiancé. "I mean it, Sesshomaru. Do you even know what she was trying to do today?"

"No, but I am sure you will tell me," he replied, his lips twitching as he struggled to hide a grin.

"She was trying to negotiate for elephants! _Elephants_! From the mainland!" Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose and tried not to think of how much that might have cost them. Even though Ryoshi had offered to pay, the cost alone would simply have been too ridiculous to entertain—even if Kagome had been so inclined. "And do you know _why_ she wanted elephants, Sesshomaru? I'll tell you! She wanted us to each have our own elephant to ride in for the ceremony! Where does she even come up with these ideas?"

Sesshomaru toyed with a strand of her hair. "I have given up any hope of learning that answer," he admitted.

"And it didn't stop there, either," Kagome complained. Now that she'd started, she couldn't seem to stop herself from venting. "She wanted to redo the landscape of the entire garden so that we could get married on a small island in the middle of an elaborate pond, complete with lotus in full bloom. It's _fall_ , Sesshomaru! The lotus aren't _in_ full bloom."

She felt rather than heard his chuckle and she decided she wasn't amused by his lack of urgency. The only person who had any hope of reining in Ryoshi was her own son and he was too busy being amused at Kagome's plight.

She decided it was time to bring out the big guns and she revealed Ryoshi's craziest idea of them all, "She thought it would be touching to have InuYasha there, dressed in your father's armor and wearing your father's swords. After all, you don't _need_ Tenseiga or Tessaiga now that you have Bakusaiga."

It was a still a sore point with Sesshomaru and they both knew it.

Sesshomaru stiffened beside her and he was up and out of bed before she could even blink.

"What are you doing?" She stared as her fiancé quickly began redressing.

"Finding Mother," he said darkly, striding towards their bedroom door. "She is to desist from any further wedding planning."

He was out of their room before she could reply. 

"Well, at least he's taking it seriously now," Kagome muttered to herself. The only idea that Kagome liked of Ryoshi's at all was having Rin and her husband, Jinenji, be the ones to provide all of the flowers for the ceremony. 

When her fiancé returned, his expression was stony and he refused to talk about what happened, no matter how much Kagome pleaded.

Kagome woke up the next morning to find two huge white elephants in their courtyard and cried.


	14. Party Like a Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: HS party: InuYasha throws it and Kagome hooks up with Sesshomaru, only for Toga to find them together later, as requested by effinsusie.
> 
> AU.

Kagome never did like parties but she had a hard time telling her best friend no, which is why she was here at his party while his parents were away. InuYasha had proclaimed that it was his last big party of senior year since they were graduating next week and he wanted to go out with a bang.

But she desperately didn't want to be in the throng of people dancing and playing drinking games so she took her obligatory drink that he'd insisted she have and then, as soon as he was distracted by his crush Kikyo's arrival, she fled.

Which is what led her to what she was doing now: hunting for a room in the humongous manor that she could successfully hide in for the rest of the night without being too bored. Prior parties had taught her that the garden, bedrooms, and closets were all out, as was the large manor library. She did _not_ want to become an accidental voyeur to anyone's trysting.

As she explored, she found the glass domed observatory and slipped inside. It would be romantic enough for a tryst, she supposed, but it was so far removed from the party, with plenty of bedrooms and closets along the way, that she hoped that no one would bother to make it that far.

To her surprise, there was already a man inside the starlit room who looked surprisingly like InuYasha.

She stared, realizing this man could only be one person: Sesshomaru, InuYasha's half-brother. 

Kagome had heard of him before but they'd never met since Sesshomaru was currently away from home in college and, before that, had lived with his mother rather than InuYasha, InuYasha's mother Izayoi, and their father.

"You should not be here," he said, his voice low. "The party is back that way." 

She ignored him as he pointed towards the door. "I know," she said simply. "That's kind of what I'm trying to avoid."

He turned, his eyes flashing in the moonlight. "Are you now?" he asked, his voice low. "I was under the impression that this was to be quite the party."

Kagome shrugged, not bothering to explain herself. "What are you doing here?" she asked instead. 

For a moment, he was silent, and then he admitted, "The stars. I am studying astrophysics and this is the best view in all of Tokyo. Father built this room and even had a large telescope set up in the hopes of luring me back home." He ran a hand through a long lock of hair. "It worked."

"I've always liked looking at the stars," she confessed, looking up at the stars above him. "They're beautiful."

He snorted. "That is a human notion," he said dismissively.

She glowered at her companion. "Says the yokai studying stars."

He straightened. "Astrophysics," he corrected, but there was a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Same difference." She shrugged as she stepped forward, closer to him so she could get a better view of the stars all around them.

"You are the hanyo's priestess," he observed, studying her.

She waved a dismissive hand. "Not that one. I'm Kagome." She smiled faintly. "You're thinking of Kikyo; he's had a crush on her forever. Even though Kikyo and I kind of look alike, we aren't related."

He considered that. "I see."

She wondered if he did but as the seconds stretched into minutes, she began to get nervous. "Do you mind if I stay here? I really, _really_ don't want to go back to the party."

"Do as you wish." He turned his attention back to the telescope, reaching for headphones she only just noticed.

She figured being ignored by him would be even worse than going back to the party so she blurted, "Show me."

His hand froze on the headphones.

"The stars," she clarified, sensing his confusion. "Show me how you see the stars."

He eyed her for a moment and then nodded. "Very well."

And he did, showing her the stars he was studying for one of his classes and what it was that he hoped to discover about the properties of certain types of stars. His dream, she learned, was to identify how different star formations impacted the development of planets and later, life, in the systems they inhabited.

At some point, he asked her about her dream and she admitted she wanted to run a nonprofit to help orphans after a chance encounter with a young kitsune who'd been found hiding in a cardboard box on the streets after his parents had tragically been killed. Unlike InuYasha, he hadn't laughed or scoffed at the idea of her building a nonprofit on her own. 

Instead, he'd offered a few suggestions of his own of how she could start one even before she graduated college—the same college, she learned, that he intended to pursue his masters in the fall, after he graduated with his bachelors next month.

The more they talked, the more they both relaxed. As the hours wore on, they found themselves sitting on one of the futons in the observatory. She hadn't known what possessed her, but she'd shifted, moving to kiss him.

It had been a gentle kiss, one to thank him for the help he'd offered on helping her realize her dream.

It had quickly become _more_. She clung to him, needing the quiet tenderness he offered so freely, and evidently he'd found something worth pursuing in her as well. The kisses deepened as he leaned her back against the futon couch, deftly setting it up to expand into a bed without even jarring her.

And then she'd pleaded for him not to stop and Sesshomaru, chuckling, _hadn't_.

As sunlight shifted overhead, burning through her eyelids, she stirred, finding that Sesshomaru had draped himself around her.

They were both naked.

She stared at her naked body and his, flushing as she realized one or both of them had kicked off the sheets into the night.

And then the door suddenly flung open. "Sesshomaru, my son!" a voice boomed through the observatory. "How did you enjoy your new telescope—"

Kagome grabbed for the blankets to the side of her just in time to protect her own modesty as Sesshomaru's father came around the futon.

He stopped and stared.

She stared back. She hadn't realized Sesshomaru's father would be back from his business trip so soon, let alone would go in search of Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru, who was sleeping naked next to her, his modesty preserved only thanks to his long, silvery hair. 

She mentally willed herself not to blush.

"Ah." Sesshomaru's father coughed. "I can see that I am interrupting—"

"You are." Sesshomaru brushed his hair from his face and Kagome inhaled to hide her scream. She hadn't even realized he was awake. "And if you stay, you will be interrupting far more than our slumber."

Kagome turned bright red at the innuendo she couldn't miss. "Sesshomaru—" she hissed, only to be interrupted as Sesshomaru's father began chuckling.

"I hope she likes blueberry pancakes." Sesshomaru's father winked. "I'll let Izayoi know to expect another for breakfast."

"Lunch," Sesshomaru corrected, his arm tightening around Kagome when she would have pulled away.

Sesshomaru's father continued to laugh as he left the room.

And Sesshomaru, to her astonishment, turned her to him and then, as he'd promised, began all over again as he breathed in her ear, "There is nothing more enticing in this world than a woman with a dream like yours, though it is your kindness that I find most entrancing."

Kagome was as seduced by those words as she had been, she realized, the first time he'd said them the night before.

True to his word, they didn't make it downstairs for breakfast.


	15. Sesshomaru: Dad Worries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Dad!Sesshomaru, requested by Ladygoshawk

"Sesshomaru!"

He sighed as he stopped and waited for his wife to catch up to him, already knowing what she wanted.

"You did it again," she accused, pointing her finger at him. "We agreed to wait and you went and did it anyway!"

His expression was blank as he met her heated gaze. "I am unaware of what you are speaking of, Kagome."

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Like the sword and armor just appeared out of nowhere! Takahiro and Hiroki have been begging for _weeks_ for their own and you _know_ it. We sat down and discussed it and agreed they were too young—and they are, Sesshomaru! They're five!" She stomped her foot. "That is way too young to be playing with weapons."

"I do not recall agreeing to anything," he replied smoothly. "As I recall, you had the discussion all on your own and I was merely present for it. Besides, my father provided me with my first place when I was still learning to walk."

"That's not the point." She groaned. "You can't keep rationalizing this, Sesshomaru. Before the swords and armor, they begged general dolls to play with and before that, they begged for those obnoxious noisemakers and you went and got them both. And those expensive matching kimono, too!" She threw her hands up in the air. "You have got to stop _spoiling_ them."

He considered her words carefully, suspecting that they would have this argument more and more often as their children grew older. "No," he said with a note of finality. No, he would not agree to that.

He wanted the best for his children. As a young boy, his father had often been away and his mother had been strict. All of his toys and games had revolved around his responsibilities and he was not allowed any luxuries. 

His children would not be left wanting. They would be provided for, coddled by their mother and provided for by their father. They would never wish for something only to be told no because it served no practical purpose. 

His fortune was his to spend and, for him, there was nothing more worthy to spend it on than his own mate and children.

He had no other way to demonstrate his affection for him. Open affection came to Kagome easily but he feared it was more difficult for him and that his sons might find him lacking.

Kagome's face softened and, as she often did, she saw more than he intended her to. "Sesshomaru," she said gently, putting a hand on his arm. "They know you love them. And they love you." She took a deep breath as he struggled to accept her words. Kagome always saw the best in everything, after all. "I'm not saying not to buy things, either. But just... let's talk about it first, okay? We're a team and we balance each other well."

He mulled over her words but the pleading look on her face was his undoing. If it would make her happy, he would discuss his purchases _before_ he made them—and then he would purchase them _after_ her need to be included had been satisfied. "Very well."

She brightened. "Alright, alright. Since you already went and got the swords and all for them, you might as well show them how to use it before they break a vase or something. It's all they've been asking about all morning. They want to be as strong and brave as you are, Sesshomaru."

His expression softened at that, secretly pleased that his children were so eager. Perhaps Kagome was right, he reflected, and they did love him as much as they so obviously adored their mother. "I'll go at once." He stood up from his desk, his missive unfinished, and left the study as Kagome chuckled.

He was tackled by his sons as soon as he entered their nursery. Their armor had been donned haphazardly and he chuckled at the picture before him before he dutifully helped them properly wear the armor.

He spent the rest of the morning gently correcting their form, careful to celebrate with them every time they stopped and posed, waiting for praise.

Kagome, lingering in the doorway, was beaming ear to ear with as much pride as he felt.


	16. Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from the server: Sesshomaru overhears a phone conversation that Kagome has with with friend and learns she is pregnant.
> 
> AU

"No, no, of course I haven't told Sesshomaru yet."

Sesshomaru, who had been prepared to walk past Kagome's study on his way to make tea and lunch, paused in curiosity. Hadn't told him what?

"...I mean, I guess, but I don't know how he's react to news like that. We haven't really talked about it, Sango." She sighed heavily.

Despite himself, he stayed to eavesdrop even know he knew it would earn her ire if she found out. But once his curiosity had been aroused, he found that he was incapable of giving her the privacy she desired. _What_ , exactly, was his priestess hiding from him?

Was she ill? Injured? Had she been fired from work? His mind began racing with the possibilities even as he shifted a little closer to the cracked doorway. If she were plagued with money troubles, she wouldn't have been so worried, he thought; his business was doing well enough that he could support her if she needed—and if her pride would allow her to.

No, it had to be something else. 

"...I don't know, Sango; the topic just never came up before!" Kagome sounded a little defensive and his lips thinned as her reiki began to leak. "...I _know_ it's a big deal but I don't know how to bring it up without sounding weird! You can't just bring up babies out of nowhere, Sango!" she wailed. "What if this responsibility is more than he's ready for—more than _we're_ ready for?! We've only been together a year!"

 _Kagome is..._ His brain short-circuited. _How? We have always used protection..._

And then he recalled the one moment when they _hadn't_. They'd found the condom had shredded during use, though both had been too involved at the time to notice it. He did quick mental math as his eyes narrowed.

Two months. The woman he loved was two months pregnant. 

And judging from her conversation with Sango, who was evidently still lecturing his priestess, she didn't trust him enough to tell him directly. She worried over his reaction—needlessly. He hadn't desired children with her yet—she wasn't even thirty—but that did not mean that he hadn't desired them, either.

The idea of their children nearly brought him to his knees. Kagome was pregnant. She was having a baby— _they_ were having a baby.

Sesshomaru felt the excitement well up within him at the thought. 

He sent Kagome a text that he was going out on an errand and hurried to dress properly to leave—he would not be caught outside in anything less than his best—and grabbed his keys before heading out to run a few errands.

When he returned back to his house hours later, grateful that he'd asked her to move in with him several months before, his black SUV was fully loaded with everything they'd need. Pleased with the success of his mission, he texted Kagome to come outside and help him bring in groceries.

She appeared in the doorway with a puzzled look as he rarely requested her help with physical labor but the surprise, he knew, would be grander if she saw the whole effect of a car, loaded to the brim, with everything their son or daughter would ever need.

As soon as he saw her, he hit the button for the automatic doors and trunk to showoff his purchases. "You worried needlessly, Kagome," he told her, his voice proud. He still had the engagement ring in his pocket but, baby or no baby, he wouldn't be deterred from the romantic proposal he'd been preparing—he had _not_ endured hours of lecturing from his father to throw it all away now.

No, she would see that he wanted her for her and the baby for the baby and not ever once doubt that he'd married her simply because she'd been pregnant.

He was pleased to see her eyes widen as her mouth dropped open. "You...I..." She gaped. " _How_?!"

"I have my ways," he told her smugly. "I am pleased that you are carrying our young."

Her eyes grew rounder. "Me?" she squeaked. "Y-you think _I'm_ —that we're—" She stopped short and began laughing, doubling over and wheezing as she clutched her stomach. "Sesshomaru, we don't need all of this," she told him once she'd caught her breath.

He stiffened. "I have been assured by the store clerks that everything here is exactly that a child would require to grow and develop properly."

"That's not what I—" She groaned. " _I'm not pregnant_ , Sesshomaru."

He did not appreciate her lie. "There is no need to lie, Kagome, until you are prepared to tell me yourself. I overheard your conversation with Sango."

"You overheard my—" She glared. "That was _private_ , Sesshomaru!"

"Then you should not have left your study door open and spoken loudly enough to be overheard," he reminded her, his annoyance biting off the words.

She squared her shoulders. "Okay, that's fair," she agreed easily, irritating him further. "But I'm not pregnant. Sango is." As he stared at her, she added, "Sango and Miroku want us to be the baby's godparents. You know, in case anything happens. Miroku doesn't have any family and Sango only has her little brother and he's still in middle school so he's too young right now for that kind of responsibility. Besides, Sango didn't want to shoulder him with about raising her kids if something happened to them. But you know Sango; she likes to be prepared for anything. That's why she wanted me to talk to you about being the baby's godparents in case something happened. They...see us as family, you know?" 

She sniffled, wiping back a tear and he pulled her into his arms without thinking. "So you are not pregnant," he rumbled quietly.

"No, I'm not. But if I _was_ , this would be really touching, Sesshomaru. I can't believe you went and did all of this in one afternoon." She kissed the corner of his jaw before giving him a soft kiss. "It means a lot to know that you're as serious about this as I am."

He considered her words for a moment and then nodded. "Hnn." 

He turned and pressed a button to shut the doors and locked the car before he scooped up Kagome in his arms and took her into the house with him.

"Hey!" she protested, giggling as she pushed gently against his shoulders. "What gives?"

He smirked as he stared down at her flushed face. "Perhaps you are not pregnant _yet_ ," he stressed meaningfully. 

Her eyes widened at the lascivious look on his face. "You better not be trying to get me pregnant if you aren't going to marry me," she warned, trying not to show how she was melting in his arms.

"Hnn." His grin grew as she huffed, wasting no time in hurrying to their bedroom.

After all, he'd already purchased everything. It would be a shame to waste it.


	17. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Jealousy  
> Post-Canon
> 
> Y’all I was not at all expecting corona to still be a huge issue when I committed to this but I’ll keep adding to it as I can!
> 
> NGL, I totally channeled “Cool” by Gwen Stefani here for this one.

Perhaps it should have been weird, sitting down to a family dinner with a different man than she’d once pictured—and that same man also attending with his own wife.

But it wasn’t.

Kagome _liked_ Sakura; it was impossible _not_ to like the human woman InuYasha had recently married. The woman was as graceful and gentle as her namesake and her very presence seemed to calm InuYasha’s impulsiveness and brashness in a way she’d never seen before.

He looked relaxed and she realized she’d never seen him so relaxed before. 

The dinner itself went smoothly, though it was mostly Sakura’s doing. She had insisted on cooking for her new in-laws and had turned down all offers of help. 

There was an easy atmosphere now between them as the hours wore on. Kagome and InuYasha could now laugh about old times and each tried to one up the other with stories from the past. She never even noticed her mate’s quiet withdrawal—he’d never been prone to socialization, at any rate.

Before Kagome knew it, the sun had set and the sky had darkened.

InuYasha and Sakura offered to put them up for the night and Kagome agreed before Sesshomaru could say a word. It would give her time to see Sango and Miroku and their children in the morning before she left, and she knew Sesshomaru would want to see Rin.

It was only later, when she’d taken a step outside for fresh air, that she finally got the chance to talk to InuYasha alone, like she’d wanted.

”Keh.” InuYasha stepped outside behind her and immediately shoved his hands in his sleeves. “Ain’t it a little late to be out? Your human body’s always been weak.”

She smiled at the familiar gesture, remembering how he’d often done so in the past, and chuckled at how his concern always came off as brusque. The years had matured her—or perhaps it had been Sesshomaru’s influence—for she took the words as he no doubt intended and didn’t take offense. “She’s good for you,” Kagome remarked, leaning up against the wooden walls of his home in the village.

He smiled softly. “Yeah, she is. She deserves better than a hanyo like me, but she’s stubborn like someone else I know. Won’t change her mind.”

Kagome chuckled softly and he laughed in turn. “I’m happy for you, InuYasha. You deserve to be happy.”

His smile grew a little faint. “So do you,” he said quietly. “I never meant to hurt you, K’gome.”

“I know.” She patted his arm reassuringly. “I know, InuYasha. We both weren’t at our best back then.” 

It was quiet for a moment as they both took in the night scenery.

”The bastard still seems just as taken with you,” InuYasha observed. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off you all night. You expecting?”

”InuYasha!” Kagome smacked his arms lightly even as her lips tugged into a grin. “Learn some tact, will you?”

He scoffed but his expression was thoroughly amused. “Your scent is different,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, ducking when she made a playful swipe at him.

”In-U-Yu-Ya-Sha!” She emphasized each syllable with another playful swipe at her best friend. “You aren’t supposed to _say_ those things.”

She _was_ pregnant, but she was still adjusting to Sesshomaru’s recent revelation and hadn’t been ready to share the news yet.

 _Trust InuYasha’s nose to pick up on it,_ she grumbled to herself good-naturedly. He’d never had any tact, anyway.

“Sakura would like to meet ‘em,” he said abruptly, surprising her. “Your kids, I mean.”

There was a hint of a flush on his face that said _he’d_ like to meet her kids too. _Oh, InuYasha... Still not entirely honest with your own feelings._

She pretended to think about it. “I don’t know...” she said slowly, laughing as he sulked. “I think kids should be close to their cousins. Family’s important, you know? Why don’t you come back with us?”

InuYasha’s face lit up. “The bastard won’t mind?”

Kagome tapped her lower lip. “I think I can persuade him,” she said with a wink.

”That’s just gross,” InuYasha complained, ducking another playful slap. “But here’s your chance ‘cause he’s heading out.”

With that, InuYasha turned and headed back into his hut, muttering something about checking on his wife.

And he left Kagome to face Sesshomaru, his entire body tensed and irritable.

”What’s wrong with you?” she blurted and then wanted to kick herself. _InuYasha’s not the only one lacking in tact tonight..._

“InuYasha,” he bit out curtly.

She stared at him, bemused and a little surprised at how her husband seemed to be following her own thoughts. “What about him?”

He didn’t immediately answer and she had to ask again, suddenly desperate to know why he was so upset.

”You regret this,” he said, the words so at odds with her proud mate. 

”What?!” Her voice was faint and she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.   
  
Sesshomaru...insecure? Jealous, even? It didn’t seem _real_.

He didn’t answer her but there was a faint hint of red on his cheeks and she had the feeling he immediately regretted his outburst. But that didn’t mean the problem had gone away and she strove to reassure him.

”I don’t regret _anything_ ,” she told him, moving to wrap her arms around him in a hug. “I love you, Sesshomaru. I love this baby. I love our life together. And yes, I loved InuYasha; I still do,” she felt him stiffen and rushed out, “but it’s _different_ now. The reason I can be this close with him is because of what I have with you.”

She stretched out to kiss his lips and felt his tension ebb, though he didn’t yet return her kiss.

“Yet you wish to live with him again.” He seemed as surprised as she was by his sudden words.

She hid a smile. Yes, her mate was definitely jealous. “I want a family,” she stressed, “and InuYasha is a part of that. But whatever he and I had together is all in the past. He’s a friend—he’s one of my best friends—and he’s my brother-in-law, but that’s it, Sesshomaru. He can’t hold a candle to you in my eyes. I mean, you’re literally named perfection, aren’t you? How could he even compare?”

Her eyes twinkled as she said that, but he relaxed further at her teasing and this time, when she kissed him, he kissed her back. 

“I had worried,” he confessed quietly as he pulled her closer to him. “I could not bear to lose you, Kagome.”

She gave him a light, reassuring kiss. “You won’t,” she said, grinning. “I’d have to be an idiot to give up the perks of having a husband with a long, talented tongue—”

“I’m gonna be sick,” InuYasha complained loudly from inside his house. “You’re both _gross_.”

Kagome and Sesshomaru both chuckled at that, but Sesshomaru had no intentions of returning to his half-brother’s house just yet. Instead, he bent to whisper in her ear all sorts of naughty things about his many, many talents and, well, Kagome managed to squeak out a change in location for other activities before InuYasha let out another complaint.

As they relocated, she decided InuYasha’s room would be on the _other_ side of their shiro. He might be her friend, but he really was a wet rag on her enthusiasm. 

Later, however, she would have to thank him for riling up Sesshomaru so thoroughly. But it would have to be much later, she revised, because her legs absolutely refused to _move_.

Sesshomaru simply smirked when she complained. 


	18. Disbelief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Disbelief
> 
> Post-canon

“What’s wrong with love?” Kagome challenged, glowering at her companion as they sat together in InuYasha’s Forest.

If someone had told her back in middle and high school that she’d be able to sit like this and correspond with Sesshomaru, she’d have called them a liar.

”It does not exist.” Sesshomaru sniffed.

Kagome refrained from rolling her eyes—but only just. “That’s like saying the sky isn’t blue—the proof is all around you, Sesshomaru.”

”It is a foolish, human notion.” 

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well what would you rather have, then? Rin with someone she loves and who makes her happy or Rin with someone well off?”

”Wealth,” he answered instantly to her own ire. And then, as if sensing her growing ire, he elaborated, “This is an era of war and bloodshed. Happiness will not keep her safe. Wealth and strength _can_.”

“Maybe it’s like that now,” Kagome conceded reluctantly, “but it won’t always be like that. And even if there’s war now, we _need_ people like Rin. She gives us hope that tomorrow can be better.”

Sesshomaru was silent for a moment. “Hnn,” he finally said, eying her with an odd expression. “If love is so important to you, why did you not mate with the hanyo?”

Kagome flushed bright red. “Not that it’s any of your business,” she stressed, annoyed by the obvious amusement on his face, “but sometimes love isn’t enough.”

”And before you say a word,” she added quickly, glaring at his triumphant expression before he could speak up, “ _yes_ , I see the irony. But in our case, while InuYasha loves me, he still sees Kikyo _in_ me. It ended up being too hard for him to separate us and I learned myself that I need to know that I'm loved for _me_.”

”But Jinenji’s different,” Kagome retorted with a warning glance. Seeing Sesshomaru ready to argue to the contrary, she added, “He loves her for who she is and he’d do anything to make her happy and keep her safe. He doesn’t see anyone else when he looks at her,” she finished quietly.

To her surprise, Sesshomaru murmured, “InuYasha has always been a fool.”

She shrugged one shoulder as she laughed without any real humor. “You’ve said that before,” she reminded him.

”Yet it does not make this one’s words any less truthful.” He relaxed back against his tree, managing to make his cross legged pose look effortlessly regal. “To pine for one the hanyo cannot have and cast off one who is still living and able to procreate is just another mark against the hanyo.”

She gaped; she couldn’t help herself. In the ten years she’d known the daiyokai, she never thought she’d hear those words leave his lips.

And yet, it was such a practical thing to say that she was hardly surprised that he _had_ said it. 

”How romantic,” she groused. “Is that all you look for in a wife, Sesshomaru? Someone still capable of reproducing?”

”Hardly.” He snorted and she swore she saw his lip twitch in amusement. “If that was all that was required, this one would have dozens of wives by now.”

Curiosity got the better of her. “Then what _do_ you look for?” she prompted when he didn’t elaborate. “You’ve already made it clear you don’t seek love, so what is it that you want in a wife?”

He raised a brow. “Do you seek to pair this one up next? Do not think he is unaware of your hand in Rin’s new interest in Jinenji.”

”Bah.” She waved her hand about. “That was different. The two of them have been side eying one another for who even knows how long. No, I’m just curious.”

”Hnn.” He watched her, his expression contemplative. “And what will you do with this information when you receive it?”

”Who says I need to do anything with it?” she countered, clicking her tongue.

He was silent for another moment before admitting, “Power.”

It was such a Sesshomaru thing to say that she couldn’t possibly be surprised, though she _was_ disappointed. 

Was power all that mattered to him?

”Power?” she echoed, her voice faint.

”This one is not attracted to a female who cannot protect herself or her young or who constantly requires protecting.” He made a dismissive sound as he ran his claws through his hair. “Therefore, power is required for her to be strong enough to ward off any threats in the event that this one is not able to arrive in time to save her and any offspring.” 

She ran a hand through her hair, failing to realize she was mimicking his own gesture moments before. “That sounds really lonely," she blurted after telling herself not to say anything.

He stared at her. 

"Not that I'm saying you're lonely," she added hastily, feeling a need to backtrack. Yes, she and Sesshomaru were on good terms—good enough that he'd sought her out to discuss Rin's desire to marry Jinenji with her—but she didn't think _anyone_ was close enough to Sesshomaru to get away with rendering judgment on who he was. And she had been flirting with that line a little too closely for her own comfort.

"Or that, um, you'd be lonely married, either," she added as he continued to stare at her. "But if I was going to spend the rest of my life with someone, I'd want to make sure we got along. You know, that we had things we could talk about and had things in common. I mean, what if you find someone really, really powerful and it turns out she only bathed once a week?"

Sesshomaru's nose immediately wrinkled in distaste and Kagome couldn't help but giggle. "Things in common," he mused after a moment.

Kagome nodded. "Right. Stuff you can talk about or do together other than, ah, procreate. Like hobbies or interests," she explained, though she doubted he needed the explanation. "Like reading or traveling."

"Bathing," he suggested, his lips twitched. "And slaying troublesome yokai."

Well, the latter certainly sounded like one of Sesshomaru's hobbies so Kagome nodded reassuringly, hoping he'd come to see the validity of her point. Maybe she hadn't worn him down enough to be open to the idea of love yet, but this was certainly a start. "Right, exactly!" she praised with a wide grin. "Commonalities make relationships stronger and more fun, too, I think."

It was probably another reason why she and InuYasha hadn't worked out. After Naraku had been defeated and she'd returned from her birth era, they'd discovered they had surprisingly little to talk about.

In fact, she'd found more to talk about with Sesshomaru over the last few years than she had with InuYasha in almost fifteen years.

An odd glint entered his eyes as he watched her and she tried not to feel too much like prey and squirm. "An interest in Rin's future and well-being would also be beneficial."

She nodded. "That would probably be good, too," she agreed.

"A known proclivity for defiance, perhaps," Sesshomaru, his voice nothing more than a mere rumble, as he held her gaze. She had the distinct feeling that he was testing her.

Her mouth suddenly felt impossibly dry. "Sure, if you like that, I guess."

"It would seem that this one is open to it, if a certain female is involved, though he hadn't realized she reciprocated his interest." His voice was smooth and positively sinful.

She stared at Sesshomaru as she swallowed back a lump, looking for tell-tail signs of kitsune trickery and finding none. There was no way that Sesshomaru was sitting across from her, in InuYasha's Forest, saying what she _thought_ he was saying.

"I-I thought you didn't believe in love," she said, stumbling over her own words.

"Yet we have such _commonalities_ between us," he rumbled.

She licked her dry lips and he watched the moment. She swore he was closer now than he had been moments before. "Love is important," she stressed but her hands moved to his chest not to push him away, but to rest against him.

She'd always been fascinated by him, but would he learn to love her as she needed? Could he? Her mind warred with itself, but there was a part of her that pointed out if he was willing to bend this far and take a human wife after all he'd disdained in his father and half-brother, he was more capable of it than he realized. He was certainly able to love, or he never would have invested so much in Rin.

Perhaps he hadn't yet recognized the depths of his own feelings himself but she suddenly saw a flicker of it in his gaze.

"Hnn." He was impossibly close now. "Then show me. if it is what you require, _show me_."

She did. She kissed him, a quick, soft, testing kiss and abruptly pulled back, waiting to see what he would do.

He met her gaze once more, studied her for a moment, and then kissed her, soft, gentle kisses that soon clung and deepened and she melted against him. 

She would work on helping him put words to his feelings later.


	19. Texting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Texting  
> Modern AU

_Come downstairs._

Kagome blearily stared at the text on her phone, wondering what had gotten into her husband. Sesshomaru had never been a big texter to begin with, preferring to keep his communication in person and, if he couldn't manage that, face to face. 

While he'd taken to video calling like a fish to water, he generally went out of his way to avoid texting.

She rose from the bed and stretched, trying to get her blood flowing. 

She pulled on a robe out of habit, though it wasn't necessary. Their son and daughter were spending the weekend with her mom and grandfather, leaving Kagome and Sesshomaru to have their first quiet weekend together in almost a year.

Yawning, she made her way down the stairs, hoping her husband had made her a cup of coffee or tea. As long as it had caffeine in it, she didn't care.

But when she got downstairs, she saw no trace of her husband anywhere.

Her phone vibrated again and she glanced down at the screen.

_Go outside._

Curious now, she left the kitchen without touching her Keurig and made her way out to the patio in the backyard, expecting to see her husband but Sesshomaru still was nowhere to be found.

Her phone vibrated as she stood on the wooden platform they'd installed several years before.

_Follow the path._

At this point, she realized Sesshomaru was definitely planning something, but the only way to know what was to find him. She followed the stone path to the left of the patio that led into the forest that covered over half of their property. 

As she made her way into the forest, her phone chimed again. 

_Turn right._

Lips quirking, she turned right, suspecting now that he was taking her to the hot spring that lay within the forest on their property. It was her favorite place to relax, but it was one that had gone into disuse since the birth of their daughter four years earlier.

Her phone vibrated again just as she spotted the clearing. 

_Stop._

She looked at her phone in confusion. "Not here?" she murmured, bemused.

Her phone vibrated again.

_Close your eyes._

She shrugged but did as her husband bade. 

"Kagome." She felt his breath against her lips and she smiled.

"You texted me," she breathed. "You don't like texting."

"I did not wish to inadvertently give away my plans by conversing directly, ergo the texting," he rumbled as she felt him direct her forward. She followed his direction as he guided her, hand on her shoulder, until she felt her feet reach the rocky outcrop of the spring. "Open your eyes."

She did and immediately gasped. There, before the hot spring, lay a spread blanket with a picnic basket filled with her favorite foods, thermos of tea, and a basket of relaxing bathing supplies for a later dip in the hot spring after they ate.

She turned to face her husband, tears in her eyes at how much work this much have taken to put together for her to have such a perfect surprise.

"Happy anniversary," he said, kissing her temple.

"Happy anniversary," Kagome said, stretching up to kiss her husband on the lips. "I love you, Sesshomaru."

His expression softened. "And I love you, Kagome."


	20. You are my love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "You are my love." Requested by revang.
> 
> Post-canon

Kagome sat at the edge of the well, waiting for Sesshomaru's regular visit to the village by the well. 

At first, his visits had been random, but they had begun to come with increasing frequency over the last few months. Sesshomaru had sought her company one day with a simple request for Rin's wellbeing but that had turned into conversation.

That conversation had led to another during his next visit and before she knew it, Sesshomaru had begun to seek her out with surprising regularity. After a few visits, he had begun bringing gifts with him. The gifts varied from visit to visit but they were were always practical so she hadn't seen a reason to refuse. 

She had an assortment of gifts from him now, including a handprinted kimono for a recent local festival and new drying rack for her healing herbs and spices. 

His visits were now at set three day intervals and today marked the third day. 

There _had_ to be a reason he kept seeking her out and today was the day she'd finally mustered up enough courage to ask him directly.

"Kagome."

 _That_ was something else she'd noticed. Somewhere along the way, he'd stopped referring to her by 'woman' or 'miko' and had begun to call her by her name instead.

She glanced up to see Sesshomaru had managed to once again sneak up on her. "Hello, Sesshomaru," she greeted him, lifting her hand to shade her eyes from the afternoon sun. "How've you been?"

She winced; it wasn't the question she'd wanted to ask, but she'd lost her nerve at the last minute. What if she'd been misconstruing everything? It had already happened once, with InuYasha—if it happened a second time, she wasn't sure she could bear it.

 _Older and wiser, maybe, but not any braver or stronger_ , she thought to herself sardonically. 

"Well." To her surprise, he took the seat next to her on the wooden lip with a grace she could envy. "And you?"

"Good," she said, proud that she'd managed to keep the waver out of her voice. She took a breath and turned to him but promptly lost it as he turned his full attention to her. "H-have you already seen Rin?"

He gave a short nod of his chin. "Ah-Un is with her."

From that, Kagome guessed that Jaken was also with Rin, but Sesshomaru hadn't bothered to care enough to mention it. She felt a small smile tug at her lips. "What did you bring her this time?"

"A hair pin." There was an oddly melancholic expression on his face now. "She wished to begin pulling up her hair."

Kagome tucked a strand of her own hair behind her ear. "She's getting older," she said, guessing that was what he'd realized, too.

He gave her a short nod but said nothing else about the subject.

It was too raw for him, she guessed, and so she set aside the subject herself. _It's now or never_ , she decided and lifted her chin. "Sesshomaru, why—"

He reached out a clawed hand and slowly pulled back his fingers to reveal a bone hair pin sitting in the center of his palm.

"A hair pin?" She was afraid to look too closely at the gift he offered but her mind could only come up with one reason as to why he might offer her a carved bone hair pin. "Why?" she asked quietly, her heart rising against the dread that tried to weigh it back down.

"It was made from this one's tooth," he said as if that explained everything.

Perhaps it did, she reflected, but she needed to hear the words. She needed to know he felt as she did, for over the last few months, he had drawn her further and further in with his conversation and his quiet care, with the way no need of hers every seemed to slip past her.

But she couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud first and risk breaking her own heart again.

She reached out with shaky fingers to trace the bone, feeling the grooves of the carvings under her fingers, but she didn't take it from him. "I don't pull my hair up elegantly enough to do this justice, Sesshomaru."

To her surprise, he pulled the pin away from her and sank his own hands into her hair, quickly and efficiently pulling her hair up and styling it before he slid in the bone hairpin.

"It suits you," he said when he was done.

With reverent hands, she reached up to touch her styled hair, following it back to the pin he'd tucked into it. "Sesshomaru—"

"No other will do," Sesshomaru murmured quietly. "You have my love, Kagome."

Kagome felt tears well up and she reached to wipe them away.

Sesshomaru's fingers were there first, brushing them away with a gentleness she never would have thought him capable of when they first met. 

"You have mine, too," she replied, smiling as she wrapped her hands around his own. "I love you, Sesshomaru."

There was a pleased smile at his lips as he bent his head to kiss her.


End file.
